[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 222 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 222

 Honoring the victories of Team Discovery and American cyclists Lance 
       Armstrong and George Hincapie in the 2005 Tour de France.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2005

Mrs. Hutchison (for herself, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Martinez, and 
Mr. Leahy) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
                               agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the victories of Team Discovery and American cyclists Lance 
       Armstrong and George Hincapie in the 2005 Tour de France.

Whereas Team Discovery included Lance Armstrong of Texas and George Hincapie of 
        South Carolina from the United States, Jose Luis Rubiera, Manuel 
        Beltran, and Benjamin Noval from Spain, Pavel Padrnos from the Czech 
        Republic, Jose Azevedo from Portugal, Paolo Savoldelli from Italy, and 
        Yaroslav Popovych from Ukraine;
Whereas Team Discovery won the 2005 Tour de France under the leadership of Lance 
        Armstrong, who rode to victory by completing the 2,232-mile, 21-stage 
        course in 86 hours, 15 minutes, and 2 seconds, finishing 4 minutes and 
        40 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor;
Whereas, by winning the Tour de France on July 24, 2005, Lance Armstrong became 
        the only competitor in the history of the Tour de France to win 
        cycling's most prestigious race in 7 consecutive years;
Whereas George Hincapie rode stage 15, which was 127.4 miles long and included 1 
        above category climb, 4 category 1 climbs, and 1 category 2 climb, for a 
        total of 33.5 miles of climbing at an average gradient of 7.96 percent;
Whereas stage 15 was considered the hardest stage of the 2005 Tour de France and 
        the victory of George Hincapie atop Pla d'Adet marks his first Tour de 
        France stage victory;
Whereas George Hincapie is only the 8th competitor from the United States to win 
        a stage in the Tour de France;
Whereas George Hincapie has participated in the Tour de France 10 times and is 
        the only teammate to assist Lance Armstrong in each of his Tour de 
        France victories;
Whereas Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie displayed incredible perseverance, 
        determination, and leadership over 7 years with their teammates in 
        prevailing over the mountainous terrain of the Alps and Pyrenees and in 
        overcoming crashes, illness, hard-charging rivals, and driving rain on 
        the way to winning the premier cycling event in the world;
Whereas, in 1996, Lance Armstrong defeated choriocarcinoma, an aggressive form 
        of testicular cancer that had spread throughout his abdomen, lungs, and 
        brain, and has remained cancer-free since treatment for the disease;
Whereas Lance Armstrong is the 1st cancer survivor to win the Tour de France; 
        and
Whereas the accomplishments of Team Discovery have made the team an inspiration 
        to millions of people around the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors--
                    (A) the victory of Team Discovery in the 2005 Tour 
                de France;
                    (B) professional cyclist Lance Armstrong for his 
                record 7th consecutive Tour de France victory; and
                    (C) professional cyclist George Hincapie for his 
                1st Tour de France stage victory; and
            (2) commends Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie for being 
        pioneers of the sport of cycling in the United States.
                                 <all>